Description
From the Dust Jacket
This book does more than bring together a series of particularly charming pictures. It is a carefully planned, consistently developed study of thirty-two masterpieces from Rembrandt to Renoir, both figure paintings and still lifes, in which a letter is the keynote of the composition. The choice of illustrations has been strictly confined to works of the highest quality, all of them reproduced in full color. Together they form a harmonious and coherent whole, vividly reflecting the spirit of the letter in painting from the 17th to the 20th century. The theme is bound up with the development of letter writing as both a social obligation and a literary form, with the rise of the modern postal system, and with the daily life and recreations of a leisure class whose friendships, love affairs and exchanges of ideas were often carried on by correspondence. These conditions of life prevailed in 17th century Holland, then the wealthiest country in the world and, preceding France and England, the first great modern nation. The theme of a letter being read, written or received, in the tranquil seclusion of the home, where woman ruled supreme, together with the plays of light and psychological insights that arise from letter reading or letter writing, the disappointments and revelations incidental to the letter’s contents, and the emphasis laid on face and hands, on stylish gowns and gracious manners—this was a favorite theme with Vermeer. It also figures in the work of the best intimist painters of the period, Terborch, Metsu and Pieter de Hooch. Here is one of the most appealing and instructive aspects of Dutch genre painting, and one that has never yet received the attention it deserves. The Dutch masters exerted a strong influence on all European painting in the 18th century, when the same subject was treated even more often and in a greater variety of ways. Society life and drawing-room conversation centered on woman, and this was the century par excellence of wit and repartee, of intrigues and flirtations, all of which, once the party was over or the “season” ended, offered fascinating pretexts for lengthy missives. For this was the heyday of letter writing, which was now promoted to the rank of a fine art, complete with its own paraphernalia, accessories, furniture and methods of dispatch. Thus it provided a theme of never-ending interest for painters: Chardin, Boucher and Fragonard in France, Liotard in Switzerland, Lon-ghi in Venice, and Gainsborough in England, to mention only the better known exponents of this form of art. In the 19th century, when letter writing had become less of an art and more of a personal affair, the theme of the letter in painting became the special province of illustrators and little masters; two charming examples of this minor art are included here. But it was also given masterly interpretations by such great painters as Goya, David, Corot, Manet and Renoir. Though working as always on his own highly original and delightful lines, Renoir recaptures something of the mood and spirit of both Vermeer and Fragonard. Several fine still lifes in which letters play a leading role add to the attractiveness and variety of an unusual book, written with characteristic finesse and scholarship by one of France’s foremost art historians, Professor Jean Leymarie.
Publishing Info
The Spirit of the Letter in Painting by Jean Leymarie, translated from the French by James Emmons. From Hallmark Cards and Albert Skira with 1961 copyright. This measures about 11″ x 9-1/2″ and has 91 pages with 32 color plates loosely attached.
Condition
See image above. The dust jacket has tears and some nibbles as shown. Let me know if you’d like me to put it inside a plastic sleeve. The boards are in good condition and the pages are in very good condition. No names or markings noted. Purchased as is. Stored and shipped from clean, smoke-free home.
Shipping
Generally sent the same day payment arrives. Unless you request otherwise, I will wrap the book in plastic wrap to help protect it from the elements, create a custom-made cardboard box to ship it in, and send via Media Mail with Delivery Confirmation tracking. See the shipping page for the cost to send a three-pound Media Mail package. Insurance is an additional cost as described. I am delighted to combine postage and insurance costs if you purchase more than one item. The second item may travel for free or just a few cents more — so it’s worth taking a look at my other items before you complete your order.
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See my other art books — and ask for a combined-postage invoice!
